some would argue that the differences between speakers of the same esteem would generally have subtle differences, not earth shaking. they will all sound good, in the sense that you say hdtvs look good.

what is good, and what is its difference between great? i agree that you can assume a standard level of quality with say hdtvs, but that minimum level of quality does not reveal anything about the maximum level either. so while hdtvs may all be good, there are definitely some that are superior.

same would go for speakers, however the differences in speakers is much more subjective. sound is much more difficult to quantify, as good, than sight is. most people can see grainyness, edge tearing, color bleeding, grey black, etc. and know that that tv has some issues. but most people could not listen to similar priced speakers and make a definable answer of quality in re: to why they like one over the other. speakers are subjective.

in my ht, tv is #1. as i watch primarily movies and hdtv. however, i agree that speakers are #1 for audio purposes (no doubters here i hope), but to me i enjoy high quality sights over high quality sounds. it is a close margin, with speakers being a close #2 on my list (actually id put subwoofer as #2, speakers in general as #2.1).